E.W. Scripps said it is combining the national news assets of its local station group with its Newsy network to create Scripps News.
The renamed network will have its debut on January 1.
Kate O’Brian, head of news for Scripps Networks, was named executive VP of the Scripps News division, reporting to E.W. Scripps CEO Adam Symson. The Scripps News division will include what is now Newsy, Scripps’s Washington Bureau and its national news desk.
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“In the creation of Scripps News, we are leveraging the company’s collective resources and building upon the equity of the Scripps name and stellar reputation for journalism,” Symson said. “The American people need greater access to free, quality local and national journalism produced by a company committed to fact-based news and information. Since the company’s inception more than 140 years ago, we have served audiences with the highest ethics and standards of independent journalism. The rebrand, merger of resources and reorganization reflects our company’s long-standing commitment and belief that journalism is central to our mission.”
Scripps News journalists will operate out of headquarters in Atlanta, with bureaus in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Missoula, Nashville, New York, Phoenix, Seattle, Tampa and Tulsa.
The Scripps News Washington Bureau will continue to cover the capital and produce investigative and enterprise stories for all Scripps outlets. Scripps News also will draw upon reporting from Scripps local newsrooms.
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Scripps News programming will be available over-the-air and on connected TV.
“Newsy, the Washington Bureau and our Local Media national news desk have produced impactful journalism, from documentaries and specials to investigative enterprise and day-to-day reporting,” O’Brian said. “We will take the best practices and grow our audience through consistently unique and meaningful news coverage.”
In addition to the new Scripps News Network, O’Brian continues to oversee Scripps’s Court TV. ■
